Matthew 3
Happy Father’s day!
How many fathers are here today? Matthew 3 has a good Father’s day message in it.
John scolded the hypocritical Pharisees and Sadducees when they came to where he was baptizing. He said (vs. 9), “Do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. “
Then at the end of the chapter, God the Father speaks to Jesus right after Jesus is baptized saying (vs. 17), “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Before we get to the Father’s Day lesson, let’s look at just a little background for this passage so we can understand what is going on.
First, Matthew’s account of Jesus’ baptism, which is the longest of the gospel accounts, is possibly written as an answer to early questions about why Jesus was baptized. Mark 1:3 tells us that John came preaching a baptism of repentance FOR the forgiveness of sins. People from all over Israel came to be baptized by John, confessing their sins. They were seeking God’s forgiveness. John’s baptism offered cleansing from sin for the repentant souls who were dipped in the Jordan River.
Think of it: John’s baptism involved repentance and confession of sins and upon these a person was baptized for the forgiveness of sins. His baptism was to prepare people for the coming Messiah. John himself was looking for the Messiah and preaching about his coming. What John did not expect, was that the Messiah would also come to BE baptized by him. But here comes Jesus to John, and somehow John realizes that Jesus is the one. Matthew is the only gospel to reveal that John knows even before Jesus’ baptism that Jesus is the Messiah.
How did he know? Did Zachariah and Elizabeth tell John about Jesus’ birth? Luke tells us that John leapt in Elizabeth’s womb as soon as Mary’s voice was heard by her. Did God just make John aware of who Jesus is? Luke’s gospel indicates this.
Then there is John’s gospel (not John the Baptist). John the brother James and the son of Zebedee, tells us that John the Baptist bore witness to Jesus. John the Baptist said he would not have known who Jesus was except that he saw the Holy Spirit descend upon him. (See John 1:31-34).
This seems to be in conflict with Matthew. Matthew tells us that when Jesus came to John to be baptized that John tried to deter him saying, “I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me?” In Matthew, John seems to clearly know things about Jesus that make him react this way. Luke agrees with Matthew clearly on this point. Matthew 3 shows us the responses of John the Baptist to the Jewish leaders and his response to Jesus. Notice that John’s response to Jesus is the opposite of how John speaks with the Pharisees and Sadducees. Of them, John demands fruits of repentance and calls them a brood of vipers! He attacks their pride in being sons of Abraham and compares them to rocks. On the other hand, when Jesus comes to John a totally different reaction occurs.
John doesn’t see himself as worthy to baptize Jesus. It appears here that John sees the big picture of who Jesus is – here is God’s Son, the Lamb of God, perfect and pure, the one able to take away the sins of the world. So, John begs the question, “Why are you here asking to be baptized by me? My baptism is for forgiveness of sin! I need to be baptized by you, not the other way around! Why do you come to me? You don’t need this. You don’t need my ministry, why do you come to me? By the time Matthew wrote this gospel, the early Christians were being challenged by some with this very question. Why was Jesus baptized by John if he needed no forgiveness of sins? Mark, Luke and John do not answer this question, only Matthew. Why would a sinless Savior need to be baptized for forgiveness of sins? Did not the fact that he came to John and was baptized by John prove that he too was a sinner if John’s baptism was FOR forgiveness of sins? Oh, the theological quandary!!! Thank-you, Lord for Matthew’s account.
The answer comes from the lips of Jesus himself: (vs. 15) …it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.
“To fulfill all righteousness,” Christians have thought a lot about Jesus’ answer here over the past 2000 years. You see Jesus’ baptism is both an example for us and also something none of us could ever do. Like the fact that Jesus is fully both God and man. These two seem to be mutually exclusive, but they are biblically essential. Jesus’ baptism is both our example and yet it is something unique that no one can imitate, thus it is paradoxical as well. Jesus accepted a sinner’s baptism and died a sinner’s death though he committed no sin. Jesus was baptized in obedience to God’s will, thus he fulfilled all righteousness. On the other hand, Jesus was baptized in obedience to God’s will so that our baptism would allow us to be filled with his righteousness. Similarly, Jesus died on the cross in obedience to God’s will, thus he fulfilled all righteousness for us with his obedient life and then paid for our sins in his obedience unto death. Jesus even refers to his death as a “baptism he must undergo.” When we are baptized into Christ we are baptized into the death of Christ (Romans 6) and it is there that we receive his righteousness.
Picture this with me. Jesus is the sinless Son of God from above, coming down to the water of baptism to join with us sinners and begin his ministry of bringing forgiveness of sins and righteousness to us all. We come from below, to the waters of baptism as sinners seeking from him who is above us, the fulfillment of righteousness that Jesus give us. Thus we meet Jesus in the waters of baptism. Is it any wonder Paul wrote, “There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism…” Eph. 4:5.
What is more, Jesus is acknowledged by God the Father as his beloved Son at his baptism. The heavens are opened, the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus and God says, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!” God made it clear that Jesus is his Son at Jesus’ baptism.
This parallels what happens to us at our baptism according to Galatians 3:26-29. Notice that by faith we are all sons of God when we are baptized into Christ, we are clothed with Christ, we are also all one in Christ, and finally, since we belong to Christ we are Abraham’s seed, heirs of the promise! You could say that God indeed turns dead stones into children of Abraham! But even more, God turns dead sinners into living Sons of God! Gal. 4:6-7 continues – because we are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba!” “Father.” So you are no longer a slave but a son, and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir!
Baptism then is an amazing “Father’s Day!” We are born again by the water and the Spirit. We are clothed with Christ, adopted into the family of God, forgiven of our sins, redeemed and ransomed, sealed with the Holy Spirit and written into the eternal will as an heir!
So what are some applications from this that we can take home with us?
1. Just because you had a great earthly father doesn’t guarantee you will be a good person, but if you come to Christ and have God as your father, he will make you truly great even if your earthly father is not.
2. Fathers, one of the best things you can do for your children is to sincerely, publically acknowledge your love for them.
3. Save your strongest rebuke for pride and self-righteousness, give your highest honor for humility and obedience.
4. Children, one of the best things you can do for your dads is be respectfully submissive and obedient to their authority.
5. God has made it possible for us to become his children, if you are not a child of God, what are you waiting for?
